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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | faith without actions a fool? James 2:20 | James | lerno | 37686 | ||
Why would James call those who have faith without actions a fool? | ||||||
2 | faith without actions a fool? James 2:20 | James | Emmaus | 37690 | ||
Lerno, James 2:20 "Do you want proof you ignoramous that faith without works is dead" James is crystal clear and intentionally blunt. Faith in Christ cannot be separated from works in Christ or you don't really have any Faith to show, only a lifeless corpse of a mental concept without any spiritual substance and of no earthly good either. They are two side of the same coin. We know James is speaking about the same Faith as Paul in Romans because they both use Abraham's faith as the illustrating example. Paul never says we are saved by faith alone and James never says we are saved by works alone but he does says: "we are not saved by faith alone" in James 2:24. If you look at James and Paul in full context it is clear that faith in Christ and works in Christ are inseparable if we are talking about a living, saving faith. It is no accident that Paul opens and closes Romans with the phrase "the obedience of faith" Romans 1:5 and 16:26, which fits perfectly with Galatians 5:5 "faith working throug love" and James 2. It is not a matter of works adding to faith. Works in Christ are the physical embodiment and manifestation of faith in Christ, without which faith is dead. For human beings as created and as God intended us to be, the body and the spirit are an integrated unit. That is why our redemption is not complete until our bodies are resurrected at the Second Coming. It goes without saying that works in Christ are not the same thing as "works of the law" such as circumcision, which Paul is often speaking about in Romans. The "obedience of faith" is as different from the "works of the law" as are the commandments written on stone from the commandments written on our hearts. Emmaus |
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